There’s no instruction manual for how to commit the perfect crime, but Ladell Tharpe learned the hard way that he probably shouldn’t have bragged about it on Instagram. Nor does it help when one of your crew leaves their phone at the scene of the crime like some sort of calling card. Tharpe, 39, of Long Beach pleaded guilty in U.
S. District Court in Los Angeles Monday to taking part in a $2.6-million heist from a Beverly Hills jewelry store on March 23, 2022.
That day, prosecutors said, several masked suspects armed with crowbars walked into Luxury Jewels on South Beverly Drive during business hours, then smashed display cases and grabbed jewelry as store employees and customers watched. The thieves made off with 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators say several clues at the scene and on social media led them to Tharpe and multiple other suspects, including Jimmy Lee Vernon and Deshon Bell.
According to prosecutors, investigators recovered a mobile phone at the jewelry store that surveillance footage showed had fallen out of Vernon’s pocket. Days later, Vernon told his probation officer that his phone number had changed. The robbery crew’s brash smash-and-grab approach caught the attention of police in Long Beach, who contacted Beverly Hills to say they had a possible suspect — Tharpe, prosecutors said.
Tharpe’s name was also linked to one of the getaw.
